London Tech Week Side Event // Inspiring Female Founders: Female Founders Building Global from Day One

The next wave of breakout companies will not be built in just one country — they will be born global. But building across borders is about far more than market entry. It is a leadership challenge, a cultural challenge, and a capital challenge.
As part of Oxford Saïd Business School’s Inspiring Female Founders Series, this London Tech Week side event brings together a curated community of female founders, investors, MBA students, and ecosystem leaders for an evening of candid conversation on what it really takes to scale internationally from day one.
Co-hosted with Start-IST and Treeo VC, the event will explore how women-led and immigrant-founded businesses are navigating cross-border growth, accessing the right investors, and building AI-native companies designed to travel across markets.
Across two focused panels and an interactive fishbowl conversation, attendees will gain practical insight into what international investors are looking for in cross-border founders, how to design globally scalable business models, and how to turn the realities of building outside their original markets into a strategic advantage.
This is a conversation about cross-border ambition, smart capital, and the mindset required to build globally from the start.
Open to: early- and growth-stage female founders, ecosystem stakeholders, entrepreneurship enthusiasts, MBA students with entrepreneurial ambitions, ecosystem builders, and investors.

Agenda:
18.30 Welcome & Networking

19.00 Opening Remarks

19:10 Panel 1: Scaling Across Borders: Building and Expanding Beyond Your Home Market
Moderator:
Pinar Ozcan- Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Panelists:
Kathy Harvey- Associate Dean, Global Networks & Innovation Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Duygu Kutluoglu - Co-Founder, CEO at FineDine
Amber Perng- Co-founder & CEO at Salmo

19:45 Panel 2:  Smart Capital Across Borders: Funding Challenges and Investor Expectations

Moderator:
Mine Dedekoca- Venture Partner, Treeo VC
Panelists:
Duygu Iplikci Ergin- Treeo VC LP & 7+Seven Partner
Amanda Slavin- Co-Founder, Frequency
Senam Payandeh- Founder at Elyra Club

20:15 Fishbowl Conversation: What It Really Takes to Build Global from Day One
20:45 Closing and Continued Networking